


The Infected

by princessbilbo



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-17
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-15 06:30:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/846381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessbilbo/pseuds/princessbilbo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a freak accident in Sozin's Industry's medical labs, a virus has escaped and is infecting the world.  Most of the world has lost hope for a cure, but not Katara, and especially not after her and her brother come across a young boy, Aang, who doesn't seem to get sick.  Now the three travel to save the world before it becomes completely infected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Breaking News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> News of the virus is out and Ozai, chairman of Sozin's Industry, finally takes the stage and tells the world what's going on.

Breaking News! The words flashed on the screen before the focus was turned to the reporter. More than just her normal serious expression, she looked panicked. "Good Evening. I am Wu Kangren with some breaking news. Sozin Medical Research is reporting a break in at one of their labs, and has immediately called a press conference. We go to the Chairman, live."

The scene switched. No longer was it a woman at a desk, but instead a man standing at a lectern. It was a man the whole world knew as Chairman Ozai. Ozai, the grandson of the founder of Sozin's Comet, was the richest and most powerful man in the world. His grandfather started the takeover, where companies began to own the land, taking it from the people, and Ozai happily followed through.

Now he was speaking to the world with an expression that read as concerned, but there was something hidden behind that concern. It was almost as if he was happy.

"People of the world! Something horrible has occurred. Last night, someone broke into our medical research lab and took something very important to us — something that should have never been taken outside the lab." He paused, letting his words sink in. "They took a virus, something our company was working with in order to find a cure. But it was taken before a cure could be discovered."

The crowd erupted with questions, asking what the virus was, what it did, and how security could have been breached when the company prided itself on so many fail safe measures.

"I will answer your questions when I am finished," he snapped at the reporters below the lectern.

"As I was saying." He continued, "This virus is highly contagious, and it spreads through physical contact. It attacks the brain, and causes the body to die, but the brain remains working. The best way to describe this is it is like the dead have come back to life. I cannot say much more about it because we have not been able to study it further. However, I will say that we are trying to find a way to contain it.

"Please note, if you see anyone with the infection, kill them on sight. They will not look like a normal person. They will look dead. If you let them get near, they will infect you, and you will not die. But your life would be far worse than death. So if your loved one gets infected, killing them would be the right thing to do. Thank you."

Ozai stepped down from the stage, leaving the lectern. The reporters were calling for him, wanting their questions answered, but he answered none.

The screen flashed back to the reporter. She went on to explain that she had been given a press release that mentioned the name Sozin Medical Research named this virus, Waking Death.

Those were the last words Katara heard before her mother turned off the TV.

"You shouldn't be watching that." Kya told her daughter. "That Ozai is a very bad man and is probably lying to scare everyone."

Katara nodded. "Okay, mommy."

But even though Katara listened to her mother, she didn't believe her. The Sozin Corporation owned nearly everything, even the apartment building they lived in. How could the man who ran the company that gave Katara and her family a home be such a bad guy?

If only Katara knew then what she knows now.


	2. A Death in the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The infected are out and attacking the place they once called home. The place Katara calls home. Hakoda tries to get his family to safety, North, where no one can stand the cold. However, things don't go as planned and one person can't come along.

Suddenly everything was moving so fast. She was at home with her mother when her father came bursting into the room, and that was all Katara knew. Panic filled the air, and it scared Katara. She just wanted everything to go back to the way it was just 5 minutes ago. Instead, she just watched her parents rushing around, grabbing whatever they could. If they were saying something, Katara couldn't hear them, the screams from outside finally reached her ears.

Afraid but also curious, Katara started to head towards the door to see what was going on, but before she was able to take a step outside, Sokka was at the door, pushing her back in.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He snapped at her. He'd never looked so angry before.

His anger made her step away, back into their apartment.

"Dad! They're getting closer! We have to get going." Something about Sokka had changed. He was no longer Katara's goofy older brother. He was serious. Almost as if he was a real leader like he always pretended he was.

"Honey?" Hakoda looked at his wife, who nodded in return.

"So it's true? The virus?"

"Yes."

Katara reached up to her mother, who picked her up. Virus? Wasn't that what the evil man Ozai was talking about on the TV the other day?

"All our friends-" The rage inside Hakoda could no longer be contained. "They never received jobs for Sozin's Comet. All of them? They were test subjects. And now-"

He didn't need to finish, Kya understood.

"We'll leave through the back entrance."

Sokka took the lead, carrying a club, while Hakoda took the rear with his gun, leaving Katara and Kya safely in the middle. They were going to all make it out of here.

"We can go to my mother's. She lives in the south. It's so cold there that these monster won't be able to survive."

Kya nodded in agreement. "What about the others?"

"I told them to head there." Sokka shouted from the front.

While traveling in the building, they remained safe, but Katara could see outside. She saw them. She saw the others who lived in the building fighting off these grotesque-looking things. They looked like they should be dead. Some of their hair was missing. Some even had a body part missing. But the one thing Katara noticed the most were their eyes, they looked dead. It was through realization that she recalled the newscast and the name of the virus: Waking Death. They were clearly dead, but somehow awake at the same time.

Kya noticed her daughter looking out the window, and quickly covered her eyes. "Don't look."

It was a short trip to reach the back entrance, but it was not as safe as they had planned. The area still had the infected. While the front had the most of them, some had made their way to the back door. It didn't help that they were attacking and infecting more, if they were able to survive. It looked like the infected were trying to eat the people they once called family, as if they were animals. Kill in a way that was too horrible for Katara to watch, yet she couldn't look away.

Sokka was busy clubbing one of the infected, trying to kill it and keep it away. Luckily Hakoda stepped in with his gun.

Slowly they began to notice that the ones who weren't killed were becoming infected as well. They were turning against their own families, attacking them. The infection was spreading.

Katara stood there, paralyzed by fear as she watched people she knew, people she considered family, feast on others. She couldn't look away.

It was then that Kya realized that her daughter was not by her side. The feeling that ran through her was so indescribable, but it was the worst feeling Kya had ever felt in her life. She turned to find her daughter, spotting her right away, while an infected was making his way toward the little girl.

Kya rushed over to her daughter, pushing her out of the way, toward Hakoda. Katara fell to the ground, but Hakoda was there to grab her and pick her up.

Everything became a blur. Hakoda was running. Katara could barely see anything behind her tears. But there was one thing she did know. They got away. Somehow, while Katara was crying, they got away.

"Honey?" Kya's voice came from behind them. Her tone scared Katara.

Hakoda turned to face his wife and right away he knew what was wrong. He saw his wife. He saw what she was looking at: a bite mark on her arm.

"No." Hakoda said as he set Katara down.

Sokka quickly rushed to his sister's side. He knew too.

"We'll find a cure, we have to get-"

"No." Kya stopped him. "You saw everyone else. They started turning once they were infected. I'm going to-"

"Don't say it!" Hakoda was already in tears. "We'll save you."

"You're not going to save me. You have to…" She didn't say the word, not in front of Sokka and Katara.

"Mommy?" Katara called for her.

Kya took a step toward her daughter, but then turned back. It was already beginning. She was turning.

"Come on Katara." Sokka pulled Katara away.

Katara tried to stay put though. She still didn't know what was going on, but Sokka dragged her away. She tried to push him away, but once she noticed the tears in his eyes, she followed.

The two walked away and waited. Sokka even had them climb a tree. "Just in case." He warned. And there they waited. The only thing that could be heard were the muted screams from their home.

Then there was a gunshot.

An hour later, Hakoda finally returned. He looked so different from before. The light in his eyes was gone. He looked so lonely.

Katara didn't ask where her mother was. She couldn't. Not when her father looked like that.

"Come on," he said. All the joy in his voice was gone. "We're going to the South Pole."


	3. The Boy in the Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While out hunting, Katara and Sokka come across something they've never seen before: a boy who was not only able to hold back the Infected, but wasn't overtaken by the virus.

“Katara!” Sokka shouted.

He was yards behind her. The ground beneath him still had snow on it, but the ground beneath her was just dirt. This was the furthest they’ve ever been, and Katara was daring to go further. 

It was safe on the snow though. The snow meant cold, and after spending 10 years in the South Pole, they’d discovered that the Infected couldn’t handle the snow. Or the cold, for that matter. Their bodies couldn’t produce heat like a normal person, so they froze over much faster. People realized this and built the town further south, unreachable to the Infected that attempt to attack. These conditions were difficult for anyone to live in, but for the villagers, it was a life they’d grown used to.

However, it was a life Katara had grown bored with; sitting around and watching the world fall apart wasn’t her idea of fun. In fact, it only angered the teenager. The rage within her grew daily as the news announced one city fallen after another. She wanted to do something, anything, but the letters from her father ordered her to do nothing, and her brother made sure of just that.

“Get back here, Katara!” He snapped at his sister.

“The animals are out here, Sokka. If we want to eat, we need to explore!”  
That earned her a glare. She was right, of course, but Sokka wasn’t okay with it. He followed her out though, leaves and branches crunching beneath his feet, a sound he wasn’t used to.

They quickly moved to their normal position, back to back. Their guns were out, and their eyes were glued to the scenery around them. Nothing was going to get by them. Nothing ever had. This was something they’ve done for years, something they’ve perfected. While they could handle themselves when alone, together they were unstoppable force. 

A crack was heard from a distance, stopping them in their tracks. Sokka pointed up to a tree, and Katara rushed over to it, climbing it with ease, while Sokka stood at the base. She looked out with her binoculars, hoping for some kind of animal, hopefully a polarbear-dog, or a penguinfox. They had no such luck though.

“Infected!” She shouted down to her brother.

“I told you this would happen!” 

Despite his annoyance, Sokka reached up to help his sister down. She didn’t move. He looked up at her with fear in his eyes as he called for her again, “Katara! Come on. We have to-“

“There’s a boy!” She called back.

“And probably some girls too. The infection isn’t sexist, Katara.” Sarcasm was the only thing he had to mask his fear.

“No. I mean… Sokka, I don’t think he’s Infected.”

“Good for him. Now let’s go.”

Even though his reply was a normal one, Katara couldn’t help but be disgusted. She could never understand how Sokka could be so selfless and so selfish at the same time. But she did take the moment to climb down. The second she hit the ground, she moved towards the Infected instead of away, like Sokka was doing.

The second he noticed, Sokka turned around.

“Katara!”

“I’m not going to let him die!” She called back to her brother, not even bothering to stop. Katara was determined to help, and nothing was going to stop her.

“Idiot.” Sokka grumbled to himself before chasing after Katara. There was no way he was going to let his sister face those Infected on her own.

Sokka followed his sister to find the group of Infected and the boy. The stranger looked odd. His skin was lighter than Sokka and Katara’s, and he was bald with this odd tattoo on his head. For a split second, Sokka questioned the tattoo, but convinced himself it wasn’t the time to think about that, it was the time to fight.

While the mysterious stranger fought off the Infected with just his hands, Katara and Sokka pulled out their weapons and began to fire. It was enough to draw the attention away from the boy onto them, which was the last thing Sokka wanted. He wanted them dead, even that stupid boy. It was his fault they were there now, and there was no way he was going to lose his life to save him, nor was he going to let his sister sacrifice her life for him either. This was so stupid.

“Get away!” The boy shouted at the siblings.

“Not until-“ Katara began, but she was cut off.

An Infected got onto the stranger, biting down on his shoulder. The boy let out a scream of pain, throwing the body off of him. Sokka took the shot, aiming right for the head of the Infected. He was about to take aim at the stranger, but Katara stopped him.

“KATARA!”

“Wait! Look!”

Sokka did as his sister told him. The boy wasn't on the ground screaming in pain as the virus attacked his brain cells. Instead he was attacking the final Infected, who was barely able to stand. In fact, he didn’t even look bothered by the bit or the virus. He looked… normal.

“How…?” Sokka asked, in a daze.

He had seen so many change. He knew how fast the virus worked. He knew what it did to a person. And all those things? They weren’t happening to the boy in front of them.

As Sokka looked on, confused, Katara took the shot, killing the final Infected.

“Are you alright?” Katara asked, keeping her distance. This was nothing she had ever seen before, and she wasn’t stupid enough to run up to the stranger. Just because he looked alright didn’t mean he was.

“Yeah. I’m fine. They’ve been chasing me for miles,” the boy answered.

Hearing the boy’s voice snapped Sokka out of his daze. He quickly aimed his gun at the boy once more. 

“Alright kid! Who are you, and more importantly, WHAT are you?”

“My… my name is Aang.” The boy replied.

Katara was finally getting a good look at him. He looked tired and thin, as if he hadn’t slept or eaten in days, and the fact he could barely stand was proving that point. 

“He is sick!” Sokka pointed out.

Right before he took the shot, Katara stopped him.

“No!” Aang said before Katara could. “I’m… I’m not. I know it’s hard to believe but… I can’t. I can’t get sick.”

Both Katara and Sokka gave him a look of disbelief.

“What do you mean?” Katara asked politely.

Sokka, on the other hand, was not as polite. “Everyone’s affected. What do you think we are? Idiots?” 

Aang couldn’t stand any longer. He fell to his knees while trying to keep himself up. It was then that Katara noticed all his scars: bite marks.

“We have to take him back to the village.” She ordered Sokka.

“NO WAY!” Sokka hissed. “I’m not bringing him back. I’m not putting my village in danger.”

Katara rolled her eyes. “Your village? Sokka, you aren’t the chief.”

“I might as well be with dad gone!”

“Well, chief, I’m ignoring your order.” Katara went over to the boy, helping him up.

“Thank you,” Aang whispered.

“Don’t talk. We’ll get you back to the village and you can tell us what happened after you’ve rested.”

Aang looked at Katara, smiling at her, at his savior. He couldn’t look at her for long though — it was his first break in weeks, so he took a chance and closed his eyes.

As Aang slept. Katara and Sokka (who had wanted nothing to do with Aang), helped him back to the village. He slept for days.


	4. Enter the Heir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Zuko, a banished heir of Sozin's Industry's, who is also known as Prince Zuko. He is now chasing after the young Aang, who managed to escaped his grasp. Whatever happens, he needs to find this boy, even if it means taking down a village in the process.

“WHERE IS HE?” Zuko’s voice boomed through the ship. 

Cowering before him was an officer,too scared to speak.

“Tell me!” Zuko slammed his fist down on the table.

The officer jumped, forcing himself to stand up straight as he spoke. “We, uh, we lost him, sir.”

“LOST HIM?!” He screamed.

“You better go,” Iroh whispered, allowing the officer to happily scurry away, before turning his attention back to Zuko. “Zuko, don’t be too angry.”

“TOO ANGRY? Uncle! He lost the monk boy. My last chance at restoring my honor,” Zuko complained.

Iroh considered stopping him, but decided to allow his nephew let it out. That was for the best right now, seeing how it would have been nearly impossible for Iroh to calm him down otherwise. Iroh stepped in. “All is not lost, nephew,” he said reassuringly. “We will comb the area and see if we can find him. There is a nearby village. We can always ask there if they’ve seen him.”

“Fine!” Zuko replied. “Tell the captain to direct the ship towards the village, and send out some troops to search the area.”

Iroh nodded before heading out to give the order, fine with acting as if Zuko came up with the idea himself.

****

Getting to the village took no time. It was made easier by their ship, a machine invented by Sozin’s Industries. 

Once, a long time ago, the world was covered in water. In fact, it used to be mainly water, but after years of tearing up the land and depleting the ocean, the world became only partially water. So, instead of building brand new ships, which would have cost more to make than to sell, Sozin’s Industries decided to take their once proud ships and make them capable of traveling over land. For the time, it proved to be a wise investment, but now even those ships were becoming out of date.

Sozin’s Industries had new ships, ones that were able to fly, but those were not available to a banished heir like Zuko. He was given the cheapest ship, one that had been out of commission for years. He didn’t mind though, all he cared about was getting that boy back and being accepted by his father once more. And, if he was able to do it in an older ship, then it would only prove his worthiness to return all the more.

This was what was running through his mind as he looked out onto the tundra. In the distance, his men were at work looking for the prisoner. They were wearing protective suits, but just like his ship, they were outdated. They would do nothing to protect them from an attack. Once bitten, his men were goners. Luckily they were good at their jobs. 

Zuko was proud of was his men. Despite his anger, it’s the one thing he’s felt good about. He held the record for fewest men lost on a mission. He didn’t want to see anyone hurt or lose anyone to the Infection. It wasn’t something he said out loud, but all his men knew. They felt safe with Zuko in this unsafe world, which is why, through all the yelling and rage, his men were happy to be by his side, a fact that Zuko was grateful for, seeing as how his father wanted nothing to do with him.

“Prince Zuko,” his uncle called, “we are nearing the village.”

Zuko said nothing in reply. Instead, he just stepped inside and put on warmer clothes. He had heard of the village before, so he knew that he had to prepare his body of the cold temperature, something he wasn’t used to. 

He lived in the heat. The Infected were not only unable to stand the cold, but the heat also did them in. Their bodies couldn’t regulate temperature, so anything too hot or too cold meant death for them.

It also helped that Zuko grew up Caldera, the safest city in the world. Only the richest lived there, which meant his family and other higher ups in his father’s company. It was a place safe from the outside world, a place where they ignored everyone else’s problem and focused on the one thing that mattered most to them: money. 

Thinking about it only angered Zuko, but he still wanted to return. He wanted to be accepted by his father once again. He just wanted his old life back.

The ship reached the village without any problems, and a call from his men informed him that the boy was nowhere to be found, but also that they were safe. The area appeared clear of all Infected. Good news. He ordered them to the snow where it was safe, and gave standing orders to head toward the village, which they all did without delay. 

It had been just over a week since they lost the boy, so if he wasn’t there, Zuko didn’t know where else to look.

As he disembarked the ship, he was greeted by a small group of people. The once large tribe that thrived in this freezing temperature now looked pathetic. There was barely anyone around. Even still, none of them looked happy to see Zuko. As the heir to Sozin’s Industries, the company that started this, he was not popular. Still, he held his head up high and acted like the royal he was, unmoved past the hatred he felt by these peasants before him.

“I am looking for a boy,” he said in his most demanding voice. “He is around fifteen and has much paler skin. He also has tattoos on his head and hands: arrows. We know he’s here, so if you give him to us, no harm will come to this village.”

Zuko’s officers held up their guns at the unspoken command, aiming at the villagers, but they were unmoved. “We’ve seen no boy” an older woman called out from the crowd. 

Her respond infuriated Zuko. He had to be there, Zuko refused to believe otherwise. If he wasn’t, then the boy was lost forever, which meant Zuko could never return home, and that was something Zuko refused to to allow to happen..

The banished heir reached for his own gun and shot a bullet that whistled by the woman’s ear. “Do not lie to me!” he snapped.

The woman was unfazed by the bullet that could have taken her life. “I am not lying,” she replied in her calm, yet stern voice. “You’re the first newcomer we’ve had in years, Prince Zuko.”

The way she said his name was like it was the most disgusting thing ever to be mutter, and it stung. However, it didn’t stop Zuko. “Grab the child,” he ordered. An officer obeyed readily.

The young boy screamed in fear as he was pulled away from his family.

“Tell me where the boy is now, or else we have a new test subject.”

The word sent fear through the group. It was ten years ago, but the memory of their family members returning to the apartment complex after being test subjects was still fresh in their minds.

“Don’t!” Katara shouted as she stepped forward. “Don’t hurt him.”

Zuko looked at the girl, noticing right away where her hand were: on her gun. “I wouldn’t do that.” He hissed.

“Katara…” Sokka stepped forward, pulling Katara back. He looked at her, and though it was only for a moment, she could see the fear in his eyes. 

No. Not just fear. Sokka was terrified, which in turn scared Katara, causing her to step back.

“Good girl. Listen to the boy.”

“We told you we don’t know where this boy is, now let the kid go.” There was no fear in Sokka’s voice as he spoke. He really was the chief now.

“Take him on board.” Zuko ordered, ignoring Sokka.

“Wait…” A weak voice broke through the crowd.

“Aang- no!” Katara whispered.

“Dammit.” Sokka growled as he watched Aang step forward.

Recently, Aang had finally awoken from his much needed rest, and when he did, he told Sokka and Katara everything. He told them how there was an antibody in his blood that was able to fight against the virus, one that protected him from becoming one of the Infected. It was hard to believe, but they had no other choice. After all, both Sokka and Katara saw him get bitten, and yet there he was, perfectly fine.

Aang went on to tell them about how Zuko had found him and was going to bring him back to Caldera to become a test subject. Originally, he was alright with the idea, but after overhearing the guards mention he was going to be killed once they reached the city, Aang knew he had to get away. He didn’t trust this company with his blood. 

Amazingly enough, Sokka agreed with Aang. He didn’t trust Sozin’s Industries, so there was no way he would give them the cure.

“If we want to get rid of the Infected, we have to give it to a company we can trust.” Sokka’s words still echoed in the back of Aang’s mind.

This might not be the company they trust, but it was his only choice. He wasn’t going to let these people suffer for him.

“I’m here.” He exclaimed once more.

Zuko stared at the boy before giving his officer the go ahead to let the other boy go. As the boy ran back to his mother, Aang stepped forward. “I’m right here, and I’ll go with you if you leave these people alone,” he said.

Katara wanted to say something, but Sokka held her back.

“Fine.” Zuko replied. “Take him... and harm no one else.”

The officers followed orders once more and lead Aang onto the ship. Before he was completely out of sight, he turned and gave Katara a smile, thanking her for her help.

Katara watched at their last hope boarded the ship, followed by Zuko, who told the village they should consider themselves lucky. Tears filled her eyes and the ship moved away, and as it did, she turned towards Sokka. “How could you?” She screamed at him as he walked away. “How could you let them take him?!”

“Aang wanted to go,” Sokka explained.

“Because he had no other choice!” She retorted.

Sokka didn’t reply. He was lost in his own little world as he gathered their hunting supplies. It only annoyed Katara more. “How could you even think about hunting right now? We just lost Aang!”

Sokka pushed her gun against her. “Would you quit your crying?” He said. “If we’re gonna save your little boyfriend, then I need you at the top of your game.”

His words surprised her. The anger disappeared completely, joy replacing it.

“Oh Sokka!” She sang out, pulling her brother into a hug.

“Alright! You love me. Got it. Now come on, we don’t have a lot of time,” he said as he pushed her away. “They may have a big ship, but we know this land better than anyone. Let’s go get Aang back.”


	5. The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang has been taken, and now it's up to Katara and Sokka to save him. While Zuko has a ship, which has the technology to drive over land and sea, Sokka and Katara have the knowledge. They've been hunting on this land for years, so hopefully they can use this knowledge to save their new friend.

It took no time for them to be on their way. Zuko needed to get back home as quickly as possible. It was going to be a long journey, but a much calmer one, now that the boy was in his custody.

Aang dragged his feet as he was forced down to the brig. He didn’t want to leave everyone behind, but he knew he had to go in order to protect the people who put their lives on the line to protect him. He was done with people dying for him.

One of the guards pushed him forward, trying to get Aang to trip over himself, but it didn’t work out that way. Aang was light on his feet, so he used the opportunity to duck down and slip behind the guard, giving him a big grin.

“Sorry, but I can’t come along,” Aang said as he began to make a run for it.

The guard stood in shock for a moment before finally running after him, making sure to hit the alarm as he did so.

The alarm ringing woke everyone, and soon all the guards were after Aang, but none could keep up with the young martial artist. They tried to fight back using their own fighting style against his, but he never seemed to fight back. All his focus was on dodging their attacks, and it was working.

One guard tried to pull his gun on Aang, but another stopped him, yelling that they needed the boy alive. All they could do was fight him with their bare hands.

Aang slid past guards one by one, and sometimes by three or four. He managed to jump through his handcuffs, and quickly found a guard to throw his arms over.

“Sorry!” He said as he used the guard to block the attacks from others. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I can find-?” Before Aang could finish his thought, aonther guard made his way behind him and tried to grab at the teenager. Aang quickly turned, still holding onto the guard. He quickly slid his arms up and pushed one guard into the other.

“Sorry!” He shouted one more time before making his way up the stairs and hopefully out.

He thought freedom was just a door away, but as soon as he opened the door he wasn’t greeted with an empty deck. Instead, Zuko was there waiting for him.

“Looking for something?” He asked as he held up the keys to Aang’s handcuffs. “Looks like I underestimated you.”

Aang laughed nervously. “I’m guessing you’re not going to just give them to me.”

Zuko didn’t answer. Instead he just shifted into a defensive position.

“I’m taking that as a no.” Aang said.

“You might’ve had an easy time with the guards, but it won’t be so easy to defeat me.”

“Listen. I really don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t go with you,” Aang replied, shifting his feet to get ready to dodge any attack Zuko threw his way.

“Trust me. I’ll be fine.”

Before Zuko lunged forward to attack Aang, a bullet hit the ground in front of him, causing him to jump back.

“Don’t you take another step closer,” a voice called out.

“KATARA!” Aang nearly sang in glee.

“Next bullet is going right in between those eyes of yours.” Sokka stepped forward, holding out his own gun, pointing it at Zuko.

Upon seeing them, Zuko growled in anger. “How did you get here?”

“You think you’re the only one with a vehicle? Ours might not be as fancy as your land-ship, but it’s faster.” Sokka said.

“And you don’t know the land like we do.” Katara added, finally letting herself be seen by jumping down from one of the evergreens that was branching over the ship.

Zuko’s glare moved from Aang to Sokka and finally landed on Katara. “You peasants don’t know who you’re dealing with.” He took a step forward, and the moment he did, Sokka and Katara both had their weapons on him.

“Zuko,” a voice called out from the bridge. “I believe it would be unwise to go against them as you are.”

Only Aang and Zuko looked up to see who was talking.

“Uncle!”

“You are weaponless, and they have two guns on you. Do you think that you can defeat them like this? Live to fight another day.”

“Listen to the old man.” Sokka said. “Give us the keys and no one gets hurt.”

While Iroh was speaking, Katara made her way to Aang’s side.

“Drop the keys, and kick them over here,” he ordered.

Still glaring, Zuko did as he was told. The keys were dropped onto the deck and were kicked over to where Aang and Katara stood. She quickly picked them up and freed Aang from the handcuffs.

“Finally!” He beamed. He didn’t get to celebrate for long. Sokka was suddenly beside him as well, pulling him to follow.

“If you follow us, I will kill you.” Katara hissed at Zuko.

Sokka lead the way to the rope he used to climb up. Katara followed, but kept her gun on Zuko until he was out of sight, and she was off the ship.

“UNCLE!” Zuko yelled out. “How could you let that happen? Why didn’t you let me fight?”

Iroh let out a sigh. “You must pick and choose your battles, my nephew, and that was a battle you were sure to lose.”

“I don’t care!” Zuko growled as he stomped off, making his way back inside.

Meanwhile, Katara, Sokka, and Aang wasted no time getting away. They didn’t stop to chat. Sokka hopped into the driver’s seat and drove their off-roading car away, which was a much better fit for the landscape than Zuko’s ship had been.

Once a few miles away, hidden in the thick of the evergreen forest that surrounded them, Sokka stopped. “Okay, off,” Sokka ordered. “We need to think of some plans because I’m not driving off into the sunset.”

Katara hopped off after, followed by Aang.

“Are we not going back to your home?” Aang asked.

“Are you kidding me? And put them back in danger? I don’t think so.” Sokka sounded insulted as he spoke. “We need to find a way to keep you safe and away from scum like Zuko.”

Katara laid out map. “Where should we go?”

“We have to go here.” Aang pointed to the map.

“What’s there?” Katara asked.

“That’s where I was taken. That’s my home and… I need to know if it’s safe.”

Katara and Sokka exchanged looks.

“Then that’s where we’re going.” Katara said.

“Thanks, Katara.” Aang stared at the map, looking so defeated.

Katara placed a comforting hand on his back. “I bet they’re okay, and they’re going to be so happy to see that you’re okay.”

Aang smiled up at Katara, who was smiling back.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Sokka groaned and hopped back onto their vehicle. “Alright love-birds. You coming or not?”

“I can’t wait to see Gyatso again! You’re gonna love him,” Aang said gleefully as he got in.

“I know we will,” Katara replied.

And soon, the three were off to find the home Aang had left behind.


End file.
